Post Title. 10/14/2011
 The Youth Scoop:
 Why do the Famine? The 30 Hour Famine is an unforgettable experience that will change the world and make an incredible difference around the globe! Our youth group is partnering with 5 other Nazarene churches in the area to make a greater impact for world hunger and homelessness. Students will learn about hunger and homelessness and fundraise to help feed and care for children living in poverty. On Famine weekend, students get a crash course in global hunger by going 30 hours without food. We have loads of activities to help make this a totally fun, educational, and life-changing experience. Why do we fast? Hunger kills a child every 10 seconds, but we can do something about it. The funds we raise by doing the Famine will help feed and care for hungry children around the world. One reason many people do the Famine is to experience hunger for themselves. But if you’ve got any concerns about fasting or if there’s a medical reason you shouldn’t go without food for 30 hours, don’t worry. Fasting is only part of the event. We offer a whole list of fasting alternatives such as media, sweets, internet, games, and more. To prepare for the fast, we encourage students to eat well balanced meals before the fast. Be sure to eat plenty of carbs, fruits and vegetables as this will help you with energy and the needed vitamins and minerals to sustain yourself. It is also important to stay hydrated and drink plenty of water. During the fast, juice and water will be available. Students will begin fasting at mid-night on Thursday, skipping breakfast, lunch and dinner on Friday. The fast ends with breakfast on Saturday morning at 6:00 AM. What exactly are we going to be doing? Here’s a basic timeline of the event: 12:00 AM Friday Begin fasting meal or alternative fast Friday Skip breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Stay hydrated! 7:00 PM Friday Arrive at Central Church of the Nazarene for evening program Games, lessons, speakers, Something To Eat, and experiences of poverty & homelessness throughout the night 11:00 PM Friday Worship Service 12:00 AM Saturday Lights Out – Sleep outdoors in cardboard boxes 6:00 AM Saturday Wake up Communion Break-fast!!! (breakfast meal provided) 7:00 AM Saturday GO HOME (pick up students from Central Church of the Nazarene) What do I need to bring? A friend! Also bring a cardboard box to sleep in and a blanket to help stay warm (no pillows!!!) All media devices and cell phones will be collected, so you may choose to leave them at home. How are we raising funds? Each youth group is raising funds on their own. Our goal is to raise $360 as a group. This will provide enough to support a family for an entire year! If every student brought $10, we could easily raise this. We will also be looking into a fundraising “Change for Change” Well to set up in the foyer to include others in our congregation to help meet our goal as well for a few weeks following the event. How do I sign up? Click here to register! If you have any more questions contact Pastor Michael.
 Wednesday Night Highlights: We are continuing our series called Sweet Relationships. The last two weeks (10/5 & 10/12) we talked about "How to Raise Your Parents: Expectations" and then we had the Parent Panel. Here is a review: Title: How to Raise Your Parents: Expectations (week 4) Lesson in a Sentence: Your relationship with your parents is up to you. Understandable Message: This week we want students to see that they control much of their relationship with their parents; particularly if they respected and honored their parents, it would take them far. Song(s): Divine and Holy, Love Came Down (Forever Yours) Humor/Fun Element: We had another great bumper video to help lighten the mood as we talked about parents. This week we really hit home about when we treat our parents with honor and respect, we are actually treating Christ with honor and respect. In the same way, when we treat our parents with disrespect, we do the same to Christ. In that light, we talked about what Paul has to say in Ephesians 4 when he talks about making room for people's mistakes and imperfections because of our love for Christ and for each other. Good stuff. The night ended with a challenge that the first thing students say to their parents was thank-you. Title: Parent Panel (week 5) Lesson in a Sentence: Real-life parents answer your real-life questions. Song(s): Reign in Us, Christ is Risen Humor/Fun Element: We played a game called Poison that really got the group into the evening. I was impressed with the fact that a parent made it really far into the round as teenage guys were trying hard to get everyone out by pushing and pulling each other into the poison ball. Favorite Moment: We tried something totally new with a panel of expert parents. The students collected several questions to ask parents. The parents did a great job trying to explain why kids need to keep their room clean, helping to understand their take on young dating relationships, and more. Unfortunately we didn't get through very many questions, so we might try this again soon. It's always tough to say good-bye. Wednesday night we had to say good-bye to a great youth sponsor, Paul. Paul has been serving as a leader through worship and songs and has occasionally given the lesson. He ended the night by singing a song he put together as our closing benediction. It was a great moment and chance to say good-bye to a great friend and mentor. Next Wednesday (10/19): Title: Guys and Girls: Being a Good Friend Lesson in a Sentence: What does it take to be good friend? Understandable Message: This week we’ll take a look at the qualities and characteristics of what it takes to be a good friend. Ultimately we’re setting ourselves up to ask the question, am I dateable? And similarly, are they? Song(s): This week will be a practice week. We’re trying something new by adding a class on leading worship. Any students interested in joining the Teen Praise Band should come at 5:30 PM to practice or learn a new song/instrument. A Note from Pastor Michael: Please check out the information listed above regarding the 30 Hour Famine. I think this is a great event and a significant opportunity for students to learn about an ongoing problem with an opportunity to actually do something about it. A huge thanks to our parents who served on our panel this past week. The response was great and since we only made it through a few of the questions, we will be looking into doing this again in the future. Finally if you haven’t had an opportunity to say thanks to Paul DeAngulo for his leadership, I would encourage you to do so. Paul served as a sponsor to NYC, has lead worship on Wednesday nights, substituted as a Sunday School teacher, and has given several Wednesday lessons as well. He has made a significant impact for several of our students. But OP Naz has always been a church that prepares people for ministry and sends them out to serve God and His church. Paul will be the new Youth Pastor at Blue Springs Church of the Nazarene. While we’re sad to see Paul go, we are excited for his new ministry. Please talk to your son or daughter about this and help them to see this not as “there goes another one” but as part of God’s plan for His people to serve His church. Like always, if you have any question feel free to contact me. Grace and Peace, Pastor Michael and the Pulse Team CommentsLeave a Reply | ArchivesNovember 2011 CategoriesAll |
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